Recipe from "Candle 79"
Adapted by Tara Parker-Pope
- Total Time
- About 4 hours
- Rating
- 4(135)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You don't have to make the seitan for this recipe: Store-bought works just as well here, and cuts the cook time down significantly. Make it for a weeknight, and change your dinner game. —Tara Parker-Pope
Featured in: Crazy Sexy Thanksgiving
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 cutlets, about 1½ pounds.
- 6seitan cutlets (about 1½ pounds; see recipe below)
- Whole-wheat flour, for dredging
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼cup minced shallots
- ¼cup finely sliced leek, white and pale green parts
- 1teaspoon sea salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¾cup white wine
- ¼cup capers, drained
- 2cups vegetable stock or water
- 1bay leaf
- 1tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)
- 1teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- ⅛teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Caper berries, for garnish
- 1lemon, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
- 7cups unbleached bread flour
- 3cups whole-wheat bread flour
- 4½cups water
- 1½teaspoons sea salt
- 8cups vegetable stock or water
- ¼cup tamari
- 1piece of kombu
- 1piece of wakame
Garnish
Seitan Cutlets
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (7 servings)
896 calories; 16 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 154 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 1475 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Dredge the cutlets in the whole wheat flour, shaking off any excess.
Step
2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the cutlets and cook until crisp and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place the cutlets on individual plates or a platter.
Step
3
Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil in another sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, leek, salt and pepper and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step
4
Add the all-purpose flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to make a roux. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and stir well to incorporate the flour.
Step
5
Add the capers, stock, bay leaf, minced parsley, thyme, turmeric and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the sauce becomes slightly glossy, about 10 minutes.
Step
6
Spoon the sauce onto serving plates, and place the cutlets atop the sauce. Garnish with the caper berries and the optional chopped parsley and lemon slices. Serve at once.
For the Seitan Cutlets
Step
7
Put the flours in a bowl. Mix the water and salt together and add to the flour. Stir until the mixture forms a ball of dough. When you have a nice ball, cover with water and let stand for 1 hour.
Step
8
Pour off the water and rinse the dough under cold running water until the water is almost clear. Divide the dough into 2 balls.
Step
9
Put the stock in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Add the tamari, kombu and wakame and decrease the heat. Add the balls of dough and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, until they are firm and slice easily.
Step
10
Drain the stock from the pot, reserving the stock if not using the seitan right away. Transfer the seitan to a bowl, add enough cold water to cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
Step
11
Drain and slice the seitan into ½-inch-thick cutlets.
Step
12
If not using the seitan at this point, store it (sliced or unsliced) in 4 cups of the reserved stock, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Alternatively, the cutlets can be frozen (without the stock) for up to 3 months.
Ratings
4
out of 5
135
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Cooking Notes
h
Why not just buy vital wheat gluten flour and mix with water and seasonings to make the seitan? It is bizarrely old-fashioned and unnecessarily tedious to make seitan from flour.
Tessa
Making your own is worthwhile but a lot of work. The blithe direction to rinse under cold running water until almost clear involves 20 minutes at least. I can't justify that much water. Knead out the starch in a pan of water and use the starchy water to wet down compost.
Laura
Because some people live in places where it's really hard to find vital wheat gluten. Here in Brazil I'd have to order it online and wait 10 days, and it's very expensive.
Mauro
The recipe is not bad. But in the end is seitan.. none can do miracles
Mallory
I really liked the flavors in this dish!
Next time I make this, I will omit the salt called for in the recipe, the capers add plenty and the dish ended up overly salted. I used store bought plain seitan instead of making my own to save on time. Next time I would like to try making my own.
Sarah B
What is the equivalent amount of seitan if you buy pre-made? Thanks!
Marnie
I would make this again, omitting the turmeric and thyme from the piccata sauce.
Marnie
I would make this again, omitting the turmeric and thyme from the piccata sauce. I used store-bought seitan.
Ovy Ortega
I heard that washed out seitan is much less tough and rubbery. I have done that job and it was rough. But also I did not let the flour rest in the water beforehand. Might make a big difference.
Beth
I really liked this recipe! I made my own seitan using a different recipe, but I was surprised how well the lemon piccata sauce hid the usual seitan-y flavor. I halved the sauce recipe (was only cooking this for 2 people), added garlic, and toned down the lemon a bit, since my husband usually complains that it's too sour. We both thought this was great!
Inna
As I suspected, store-bought seitan had no flavour from just being pan-fried. I ended up chopping the fried cutlets and dropping them in the sauce, then cooking it all down for 10 min in a cast-iron skillet. Added caramelized red onions, garlic (lots of it) and served it on a wrap. Delish.
silvia rennie
I made my own seitan from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's book plus additions of spices etc.The piccata sauce was terrific. But what mystifies me is that I made the full recipe though cooking for just two of us, and the sauce was just enough for our 2 cutlets. How can it possibly be enough for 6-8?? Also, it was quite sour enough w/o any addition of lemon juice.I paired the seitan with mushroomy farro. Very good! Next time I'll garnish w. a few tomato pieces for color and a fresh flavour.
silvia rennie
PS: as others have written, making seitan need not be a lot of work.If you have a stand mixer, put the vital wheat gluten into the bowl with whatever dry ingredients you want to add, then mix all wet ingredients and oil, add rapidly to the dry ones and turn on the mixer, quickly increasing its speed, and that's it in a few minutes. Then slice and boil in the broth.It seems true that letting the seitan cool in its liquid makes it a bit firmer and more meat-like.
Greg
How does volume of vital gluten used compare to the flour amounts above (10c)? I'm assuming it's less, given the washed away starch.
MayaC
Pretty good recipe as described. I did make my own seitan (with vital wheat gluten) - it was a little rubbery.... but tasty. So, What can reduce the rubbery texture of the seitan?
Sandi
You can buy vital wheat gluten which eliminates all the kneading under water.
h
Why not just buy vital wheat gluten flour and mix with water and seasonings to make the seitan? It is bizarrely old-fashioned and unnecessarily tedious to make seitan from flour.
Laura
Because some people live in places where it's really hard to find vital wheat gluten. Here in Brazil I'd have to order it online and wait 10 days, and it's very expensive.
Margaret
The sauce was good, the seitan came out awful: rubbery and chewy. Upon doing some research, I think the problem is step 8 - run water over the ball of dough until the water runs clear. This step is more involved and I would have liked a video showing the process.
Sarah B
What is the equivalent amount of seitan if you buy pre-made? Thanks!
Mallory
I really liked the flavors in this dish!
Next time I make this, I will omit the salt called for in the recipe, the capers add plenty and the dish ended up overly salted. I used store bought plain seitan instead of making my own to save on time. Next time I would like to try making my own.
Dinah Coble
Definitely make your own. It is far superior to purchased.
Tessa
Making your own is worthwhile but a lot of work. The blithe direction to rinse under cold running water until almost clear involves 20 minutes at least. I can't justify that much water. Knead out the starch in a pan of water and use the starchy water to wet down compost.
Dayna
This is the best seitan recipe I have come across--quick and easy. I rarely let it sit as long as it says to, so that doesn't have to be an impediment to the time. https://yupitsvegan.com/basic-homemade-seitan/
Mauro
The recipe is not bad. But in the end is seitan.. none can do miracles
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